Program Overview

"Student workers are welcomed as an integral part of our team, given regular responsibilities just as our employees, and expected to be productive contributors in their departments. Not only do the students live up to our expectations, but our employees also have the opportunity to mentor young people in our community–this is a successful program all around.”

Partnering with more than 1,700 businesses, Cristo Rey schools are changing the face of urban education in the United States. Assuming the role of an employee leasing agency, the Corporate Work Study Program has streamlined the process for employing their students. Students are not on the payroll of the employing organization; rather they are employees of the school’s separately incorporated Corporate Work Study Program, which the sponsoring organization pays annually for the services of the students.

Every Cristo Rey student takes a full course load of college preparatory coursework for four years, as he or she participates one day each week in a four-year Corporate Work Study Program to fund the majority of their tuition.

Students at Cristo Rey schools work in job-sharing teams of four. Each student works five full days a month. Their academic schedules are structured so that students work without missing any classes.

While initially serving as simply a financial proposition to pay the operational costs of the school for students who otherwise would not have the financial opportunity to attend a private, college preparatory high school, the Corporate Work Study Program has realized many real-world benefits for its students. The program has evolved into an innovative means of providing students with crucial hands-on, white-collar work experience, while simultaneously empowering them to assume an active role in financing the larger portion of their education. As a result of working in a business environment, students create positive relationships in the business and professional communities, build their resources, acquire valuable job experience and marketable skills, develop a network of business contacts and gain exposure to a wide range of career opportunities.

The Cristo Rey Richmond Corporate Work Study Program will operate as an employee leasing agent, in which students are employees of the Work Study Program, not the Corporate Client. The Work Study Program staff will handle all payroll, W-4, I-9, Workers' Compensation, FICA, FUTA and other employer issues for the students. The fee charged to the company is deducted as a business expense, not a donation.

Students at Cristo Rey schools work in job-sharing teams of four to cover a standard business week, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m to 5 p.m- during the school-year. The academic schedules are structured so that students are available to work without missing a class.